Chemical In Paint Could Promote Obesity: Study

A new study has found that tributyltin, a ubiquitous pollutant that has a potent effect on gene activity, could be promoting obesity.

Tributyltin is used in antifouling paints for boats, as a wood and textile preservative, and as a pesticide on high-value food crops, among many other applications.

Obesity - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications, Treatment
Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

The chemical affects sensitive receptors in the cells of animals, from water fleas to humans, at very low concentrations-a thousand times lower than pollutants that are known to interfere with sexual development of wildlife species.

Tributyltin and its relatives are highly toxic to mollusks, causing female snails to develop male sexual characteristics, and it bioaccumulates in fish and shellfish.

The harmful effects of the chemical on the liver and the nervous and immune systems in mammals are well known, but its powerful effects on the cellular components known as retinoid X receptors (RXRs) in a range of species are a recent discovery.

Body Mass Index
The BMI calculator helps you assess your weight indicating if it is normal or if you are underweight or overweight, based on your height.

When activated, RXRs can migrate into the nuclei of cells and switch on genes that cause the growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body metabolism; compounds that affect a related receptor often associated with RXRs are now used to treat diabetes. RXRs are normally activated by signaling molecules found throughout the body.

The study, conducted by Taisen Iguchi and Yoshinao Katsu, of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, describes how RXRs and related receptors are also strongly activated by tributyltin and similar chemicals.

Fighting Obesity While Sticking to Fast Food – Is It Possible?
Eating fast food is no longer a fashion. It is now a necessity. But fast-food is also known to contribute to the obesity epidemic. What is the way out then?

Tributyltin impairs reproduction in water fleas through its effects on a receptor similar to the RXR.

Also, tributyltin causes the growth of excess fatty tissue in newborn mice exposed to it in utero.

Lots of Physical Activity Offsets Gene Responsible for Weight Gain
A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has revealed that high levels of physical activity can help to counteract a gene that normally causes people to gain weight.

The effects of tributytin on RXR-like nuclear receptors might therefore be widespread throughout the animal kingdom.

The rise in obesity in humans over the past 40 years parallels the increased use of industrial chemicals over the same period. Iguchi and Katsu maintain that it is "plausible and provocative" to associate the obesity epidemic to chemical triggers present in the modern environment.

The study is published in the December issue of BioScience.

Source-ANI
LIN